HALF WAY!! This post will officially split the Horror 2000 blog so it's all down hill from here guys. Not too long before you'll see my number one favorite horror movie from the past decade!

Session 9 was a way under the radar straight to DVD release in 2001 and it was lucky that I picked it up one fateful night at Blockbuster looking for something new and not as awful as most of the other shit I used to force myself to sit through. Good actors, broken down insane asylums, how could I go wrong?

The Danvers State Insane Asylum is in utter disrepair and has just been purchased by a developer, but before they can start renovating, a team of guys must rid the massive building of asbestos and other harmful substances used when the facility was built in the 1800s. Five men, led by the usually calm and collected Gordon, over promise in order to land the gig and begin busting their asses to get the job done on the short deadline. But of course, seeing as they are working in an asylum, strange things are afoot.

That's about as much as I want to give you. I know it's not much and it doesn't seem that exciting, but the movie does such a good job of keeping the true nature of the horror veiled that I wouldn't want to ruin any part of it for you.

Session 9 is creepy. Really creepy. It's not full of loud noises or horror movie cheap shots (jump scares) and the pacing is relatively slow, but it still manages to put this blanket of dread over you that will just make you feel uncomfortable for the hour and a half duration. Seeing Gordon's life slowly break down is chilling, bumping the suspense up just one more notch to 11.

Only on this viewing did I put every piece of the puzzle together and this is probably the fourth time I've seen it. The ending gets a little bit convoluted with flashbacks and voice overs, but I like that it doesn't feed you every answer you're looking for and let's you come to conclusions on your own. Having finally made all the proper connections, I realized just how well certain story aspects play out in context. Jeez I really am doing my best to use as many words as possible to say absolutely nothing about this movie. Knowing that Session 9 is still relatively unknown, I really encourage everyone to go into it with a clean slate and see what conclusions you draw without having an outline beforehand.

Adding one final element to the creep factor is the fact that this movie was shot on location at the actual Danvers State Insane Asylum. Sure, the story is fictional, but filming at an honest to goodness asylum would have made for a pretty scary couple of weeks of production, especially some of the dark basement shit they were filming. Not only adding some creepy to the film, but shooting there eliminated the need for sets since everything was there for you, creating an unrivaled sense of place and realism.

Session 9 is a slow burn, but is well worth the wait. The relatively slow moving story manages to twist and turn just sharply enough to keep you interested, but so so sharply that you lose track of where everyone is headed. And if you're like me and it's the suspense that gets you scared, then this movie will freak you right the fuck out.